2015 to mark the year of disruptive technology

Greater global connectivity and mass customisation of products and services are creating significant implications and opportunities for businesses in the current economy. This is a key finding in a new report – ‘What’s Hot in 2015 – technology trends’ published today by Advanced 365 (Advanced) in association with Global Futures & Foresight.

The report highlights 20 emerging disruptive technology trends which are likely to influence business strategy in 2015. These include, ‘Avatars’, which allow organisations to create human-like images to provide a better collaboration experience and ‘3D Printing’, where a real object is formed from a 3D design, which could greatly benefit the manufacturing and health industries. The latter being particularly tipped to take off in 2015 with prices for entry-level machines falling as low as £60.

Neil Cross, Managing Director of Advanced 365, below outlines his choice for the top five technological developments that businesses should consider in the next 12 months to drive growth.

Intercloud – Originating from Cisco, the Intercloud is an interconnected global ‘cloud of clouds’. It will allow workloads to seamlessly migrate from private, to hybrid and public clouds to increase workforce collaboration and business efficiency.

Some *surveys have found an average of 759 cloud services per organisation which will make Intercloud’s huge network capabilities inviting as multicloud deployments become the norm. While unification of these services is not anticipated until 2017, businesses should prepare now by assessing the costs and performance of their current cloud deployments as an important first step.

Neil Cross comments, “Organisations like ours at Advanced 365 anticipate significant activity as we work with our customers to prepare them for the benefits that this technology has to offer.”

Software Defined Networks (SDNs) – SDN is an innovative approach which enables administrators to support an extended network across multiple solutions and hardware. By removing the physical limitations of networks, SDNs are now providing one in five businesses with the dynamic infrastructure they need to manage the proliferation of data from mobile devices, analytics and the cloud. As more organisations follow suit to lower IT costs, businesses should seek an experienced SDN partner to rapidly understand its importance to them.

Internet of Things – By seamlessly linking people, processes and physical objects to web-enabled devices, the Internet of Things (IoT) ensures data from any product can be captured, communicated and analysed. Predicted by Gartner to reach 26 billion devices by 2020 (up from 900 million five years ago), businesses increasingly need to develop a strategic approach to what, how and where the IoT can be used to unlock lucrative value streams and generate new business.

Prescriptive Analytics – The explosion of machine-to-machine data from the IoT has increased the pressure to interpret it and make informed decisions in real-time. Prescriptive analytics technology can help by predicting multiple outcomes based on the decision maker’s actions and recommend next steps for any situation. Organisations must ensure they have the necessary IT infrastructure in place to ensure systems and employees can effectively manage data and recruit data fluent personnel – especially in strategic positions.

Automation – As several technological trends coalesce, automation is finally set to transform business in 2015. Humanless machines are being introduced to absorb manual and knowledge-based tasks which could redefine the notion of value, work and employment. Redesigning business processes and systems should be considered at C-suite and boardroom level with formulated plans communicated openly with staff. Assess whether investing in automation could create opportunities or negate threats in the supply chain through improved efficiencies.

Neil Cross comments, “It is **estimated that 40 per cent of the organisations ranked in The Fortune Global 500 list will not exist in ten years if they fail to embrace new technological developments. Many of the trends identified in this report will have profound implications for several industries and impact businesses sooner than some realise.

“By re-evaluating their IT strategies now and enlisting the support of an experienced service provider, organisations will gain the additional agility and efficiencies needed to increase their competitive edge and thrive in an increasingly unstable business environment.”

The report – ‘What’s Hot in 2015 – technology trends’ has been written by David Smith, Chief Executive of Global Futures and Foresight. It is designed to provide an overview of the key drivers and offers critical insights on the potential implications and opportunities for a range of industries

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